Join us for an informative series of FREE talks and panel discussions exploring developments in communication and media today. Unless otherwise noted, series sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Communication & Media Studies Department. Call
(310) 434-4003 for details and more information.

Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

Robert Hernandez

Building Empathy Through Virtual Reality Journalism

Robert Hernandez (aka WebJournalist) will give a short presentation on how technology can help journalism audiences better understand marginalized communities. Hernandez explores and develops the intersection of technology and journalism. An Associate Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg, the ‘hackademic’ has worked with augmented reality (AR), wearables, and virtual reality (VR), and he and his students produce award-winning VR experiences under their brand, Jovrnalism™. Hands-on demos of VR stories and equipment follow the presentation.

Entertainment Storytelling Careers Panel:

Listen to perspectives on careers in entertainment from experienced insiders. Godfather of West Coast Hip Hop Alonzo ‘Grandmaster Lonzo’ Williams, an original member of the legendary World Class Wreckin’ Cru, recently founded the nonprofit The Lyrical Revolution to assist new artists with their careers. Marq ‘Cli-N-Tel’ Hawkins, also a Wreckin’ Cru original, is currently producing a comedy film about Hip Hop, as well as Groove Street, a third installment in the Breakin’ series. Early West Coast electro pioneer and NWA founding member Arabian Prince, president of the Los Angeles First Tech Challenge (LAFTC} robotics competition, launched the popular music source onefader.com and recently started the CPESL eSports gaming league.

Dotan Saguy

From Street Photography to Photojournalism

After a successful career as a high-tech entrepreneur, SMC alum Dotan Saguy decided to focus on his lifelong passion for photography, including studying photojournalism at SMC. His award-winning photographs have appeared in National Geographic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He published his first monograph in 2018 — with German publisher Kehrer Verlag — about the endangered culture of Venice, California, and was awarded Bronze by the prestigious Deutscher Fotobuchpreis 2018-19. He is currently working on several projects, including a photo essay on people living in vehicles in Los Angeles.

Tuesday, October 29 | 11:15 a.m. | FreeStromberg Hall (HSS 165)

Megan Lubaszka

Megan Lubaszka is Southwest Regional Creative Media Leader at architecture firm Gensler, where she has helped incorporate virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) into daily architectural practice. She has guided more than 3,000 people through their first VR experience, co-hosts VR Jams where architects from any of Gensler’s 50 offices gather together as avatars for a “virtual site walk” with the building’s design team, and identifies VR/AR trends in her weekly newsletter Reality Check. She is also a LEED AP through the US Green Building Council, and a board advisor to Inception Orchestra, a nonprofit changing music education through original composition and VR.